Father Brown and Water into Wine
Epiphany 2C
John 2:1-11
January 20, 2019
St. Matthias
For about a year now, Phyllis and I have been watching the Father Brown Mysteries on NetFlix. It’s all about a Roman Catholic priest in a small English Village who solves murders, robberies and all manner of other scandals. The thing is – just when I think I know who did it, Father Brown figures out it is someone else. I love a good mystery when there are lots of clues to solve.
That’s the way it is with our Gospel reading from John this morning. It is the Wedding at Cana in Galilee and at first glance, we may think we know what is going on - and what is going to happen - because we’ve all heard the story before. Jesus turns the water into wine and if you are like me - at one time or another – you may have looked at a glass of water and thought that water into wine would be a pretty good trick. Almost as good as walking on water. But WHY did Jesus change the water into wine? And what were Jesus and the disciples doing at that wedding in the first place? And did they run out of wine just so Jesus could perform a miracle? And finally – why does John call this the 3rd day – when it’s really the 5th day since the start of Jesus’s ministry according to John’s Gospel? All of these questions and more have answers in the story of the Wedding at Cana – we just have to pay attention to the clues.
Which is exactly what John wants us to do – pay attention to the clues. Jesus is at the wedding because that was the socially acceptable thing to do in his day. Everyone was invited and it would have been considered rude for Jesus not to attend. It would have been Jesus’s responsibility to escort his mother since Joseph had likely died at this point and Mary was a widow. So, we should not consider it unusual that Jesus is at a wedding.
Nor should we think that running out of wine at a wedding is an important clue. Weddings were big events – the wedding feast usually lasted for days. People would come and go and eat and drink. The food would run out as well as the wine – especially if the host was not from a wealthy family. I doubt seriously that God MADE the wine run out just so Jesus could perform his first miracle. God doesn’t work that way any more than God would have made someone sick just so Jesus could heal them.
For a long time, I thought that Jesus’s response to his mother sounded almost disrespectful. When Mary tells Jesus that the wine has run out, he says to his mother, Woman my time has not yet come. I can just hear it now if I had ever called my mama “Woman”. If my mother had wanted me to turn water into wine – well I’d better just say YES, MA’AM and give it my best effort. But a little biblical research this past week helped me to understand. In Hebrew, addressing your mother or any female as “Woman” was a sign of respect in Jesus’s day. But it’s the rest of Jesus’s response that may hold one of the clues to why John is telling this story. Jesus says to his Mother, “My time has not yet come!” Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus will repeat this message to his disciples. When Peter proclaims that Jesus is the Messiah – the Christ – Jesus tells him not to tell anyone. When Jesus heals the sick and even raises Lazarus from the dead, the disciples are amazed and don’t you just know they wanted to run out and tell everyone they saw about what Jesus had done. But almost always, Jesus warns them not to tell the people what they had seen. His time had not yet come! But when would it be the right time.
I remember cranking ice cream with my grandfather when I was growing up. He would set that old oak bucket out on the back steps of their house in Mansfield, LA and we would all take turns cranking the handle, pouring in ice and salt, and watching for what seemed to be way too long. And every time we would ask, “Is it ready???” my grandfather would keep on cranking and tell us, “It’s not time yet.“
Jesus’s time had not yet come. There was much more work to be done. Jesus turned the water into wine that day and it was a miracle. Later he would heal the sick, cast out demons, and even raise the dead and there were those who wanted to proclaim him King because He could do all of this. But that was NOT the reason Jesus had come. God did not send his Son so that who so ever believed that Jesus could perform miracles - would have everlasting life. No all the miracles - including this wedding at Cana of Galilee - pointed to that moment when it was HIS time – the moment that began on a cross and then began again on the 3rd day when an empty tomb revealed the very glory of God as life overcame death – love overcame hate – and there was Resurrection. We believe in Jesus who heals because he is our Savior – we believe in Jesus who forgives because he is our Savior – we believe in Jesus who is here this morning and at every moment of our lives because he is our Savior. And we give our hearts and lives and souls to our Savior – and it is then that Jesus’s time comes once more. And we see the very glory of God and we believe.
Look for the clues of Christ around us. When you think – why is God not working – look in another direction. When you feel lonely – separated from Christ’s love – and in need of forgiveness – look toward the empty tomb. Believe in our Savior. It’s not a mystery to be solved – it’s the mystery of Faith. And the time has come! AMEN.
Comments
Post a Comment